The Adventures of Jett and Alfred
by SWA Windsong
Summary: Jett and Alfred have been together since they were children, but how do they fare on a quest to find the Lost City of Atlantis? It will take all of their wit, skills, willpower, kindness, and love for each other to complete the journey.
1. Prologue

Five more minutes until recess.

Alfred was….well he was a lot of things, not the least of which included excited, nervous, angry, overjoyed, and embarrassed. It was almost time though, the only time of the day that he really looked forward to.

At first, Alfred hadn't really understood why he always did this, day in and day out. Why the other boy, the one with the messy brown hair and a band aid across his nose, always went along with it. Alfred didn't know. They didn't hate each other. But every single day Alfred beat up Jett, the Australian kid, and Jett beat up Alfred right back.

It all started the first day Jett came to school. Alfred had tried to approach him on the playground, wanting to make friends with the new kid who had a cool accent. Some of the other kids, including Jett, were already playing pirates on the jungle gym. Alfred had joined in on the game, but when he tried to "rescue" Jett from the pirates, he got a nose full of dirt. Jett had received a few scrapes as well.

They had been called to the principal's office after a few recesses of beating the snot out of each other. It had never been enough for anyone to get seriously injured, but that didn't stop the teachers from disapproving. Both of their parents had claimed that their sons were just being rowdy and rough housing, they were both very energetic children. So, they promised that they would try to be nicer so as to avoid getting detention.

It didn't stop them though.

The teachers just learned to ignore it. As long as no one actually got hurt, what harm could come of their overzealous play fighting? But, Alfred was tough enough to hide whatever minor pain he was sporting from some of Jett's punches, although he could have sworn he saw Jett wince once or twice in the classroom as he poked a new bruise or two.

One more minute until recess.

Alfred tensed, gripping the edges of his seat, ready to spring out the door at the first sound of the bell.

He glanced quickly over at Jett from the corner of his eye. He couldn't be sure, but he could have sworn he saw Jett's eyes flicker away from him, glancing up at the clock instead.

Ten seconds.

The chair Alfred had been sitting in was leaning dangerously forward, a knot had lodged itself in his stomach, rising up to his throat. It was so close he could taste it.

 _ ***RIIIIIIIING**_ *

The shrill alarm sounded through the hallways and both Alfred and Jett were at the door before it had stopped ringing. Alfred thought he may have heard some angry words from their teacher, but who cared? It was time for recess, and you couldn't have stopped either one of them with a herd of rhinos.

They raced to the top of the slide, pushing and shoving and calling each other names the entire way. Jett only barely managed to beat Alfred to the top of the slide. He turned to Alfred to gloat, smile stretched from ear to ear, his green eyes twinkling in the sunlight full of mirth and accomplishment.

"Haha, I win! What do you have to say to that, Oh hero of loserville?"

Alfred didn't say anything.

He bit his lip in a strange feeling of joyful frustration that he was only barely starting to understand and pushed Jett down the slide.

Jett yelled in frustration that rivaled Alfred's. Alfred finally smiled and went down the slide feet first, landing on top of Jett, giving him a satisfying thump on the back of the head before crawling off of him.

They both laughed.

Alfred looked at Jett who was still smiling broadly. Alfred's smile probably matched.

"Dude, I like you a lot."

Jett looked at Alfred curiously, so Alfred continued.

"I can't cope with my feelings so I beat you up instead."

With only a slight pang of embarrassment he added, "I'm sorry."

Jett's usual broad smile returned to his face.

"Dude, that's really chill. We can hold hands if you want."

Alfred scrambled to his feet and helped Jett up, taking his hand to lead him up the slide again.

Jett said, "By the way, you have really good punches."

"You too!" Alfred replied through the laughter that was bubbling up as he ran.


	2. Pre-Birthday Surprise

Kaelin = New Zealand

Leonard = The Hutt River

Pauline = Wy

I just want an adventure. I want it so bad.

* * *

The water splashed cold against Alfred's sun-warmed back as he pulled himself through the resistance. The current created by the body beside him tugged him backwards, but Alfred was thrumming with energy. Fighting the water and his friend only caused Alfred to swim harder. He smiled to himself as lifted his upper body out of the water, keeping his head tucked for more speed but thinking of little beyond moving forward. And beating the snot out of Jett, of course. But that was always a given.

It was the perfect day for a swim. Clear skies and 105 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius if he was talking to Jett. Alfred had learned to convert units in his head over time. It had been a useful skill since they were visiting Australia for the holidays. Alfred didn't understand why Jett had always refused to use the American units of measurement. Both of them had lived in the United States for most of their lives, but Alfred was supportive either way.

Except when it came to their competitions. There was no support in their races, only FORCING JETT TO EAT HIS WORDS!

It was their second race of the week. This time it was the 100 meter butterfly. With this stroke, they were almost evenly matched. But today, nothing could stop Alfred, caught between pure excitement and aggressive competition. Jett would be hard pressed to beat him in this state.

It was the best Alfred had felt since coming to Australia. The sun poisoning he had gotten the first week finally left his system. Not to mention, Alfred had been saving a gift for Jett for over a month now. At long last, his Birthday was tomorrow. It had been such a struggle for Alfred to keep his big, fat mouth shut. The prospect of adventure was too great of a lure for either of them and he couldn't wait to see Jett's reaction to the gift.

Alfred excitement was burning in his veins and he released the energy into his strokes as he swam. Even though neither of them was serious enough to be on a swim team, Alfred and Jett both took their races against each other very seriously.

He hit the wall and surfaced with enough time to see Jett slam into the wall. It wasn't very often that either of them could see who won.

"Ha ha ha! A victory for the American this time!" Alfred shouted, beating the water with his fists. He didn't give the fact that he was out of breath a second thought.

"Man, what was that? You were a monster today!" Jet said, chest heaving as he tried to catch his own breath. Alfred continued to splash around from his excitement so much that Jett was forced to block himself from the spray.

Alfred's smile was going to tear his face apart, he was sure of it. This holiday season had been the best yet. Even despite the sun poisoning and the relentless ribbing and 'I told you so's' he'd gotten from Jett. They had spent over a month in Australia so far, staying for Christmas and the New Year, drinking and going on adventures. After Alfred had gotten fired from his job, they had decided to visit Jett's father in Australia since he hardly ever got to visit anymore. He had never gone with Alfred either. They planned to stay at least until Jett's birthday which happened to be tomorrow and coincidentally fell on Australia Day. Jett's dad was kind enough to pay for all of the expenses for both of them and their brothers even.

"Maybe, I'm just excited for the Australian Independence Day." Alfred said, reaching out to shake Jett's hand in a show of solidarity.

"You know, the Independence Day here isn't as exciting as the one in the States." Jett said, rolling his eyes. He should have known better than to reach out for Alfred's hand.

Alfred quickly turned his hand over before Jett could grasp it and gave Jett the middle finger.

"Ahahaha, that's 51 to 50 in favor of me!" Alfred laughed, sticking out his tongue as he gloated, "Now you have to buy me a beer!"

Jett's mouth frowned, but his eyes smiled playfully.

"Here's what I think of your beer, you absolute drongo!" Jett jumped on top of Alfred and pushed him under the water. He held Alfred's head under for a few seconds until Alfred grabbed his knees and toppled him backwards into the pool. When he broke the water a moment later, Jett was already laughing. The water dripping from his hair and the melody of his laughter caused Alfred to start laughing as well.

Their combined uproar rang through the air, attracting the stares of several others who were also enjoying the pool on this glorious day. In an attempt to stop the stares, Alfred tried to dunk Jett in retaliation. Two young men wrestling in the water wasn't as unsightly as what they were likely coming across to some of the onlookers. At least, the ones Alfred wanted to avoid. Finally, Alfred remembered that he needed to know their times. He had been so overjoyed at beating Jett that he had completely forgotten about their records. Beating Jett was almost as important as beating himself, but not quite. With any luck, even though Alfred had won, Jett would have beaten his own personal record and they'd both win.

"Mattie, what were our times?" Alfred asked his brother after he stopped trying to drown Jett in between their laughing fits. Jett leaned eagerly on the edge of the pool. Alfred glance quickly at him from the corner of his eye.

"Under a minute for both of you, 54 second for Alfred, and 56 for Jett."

"You beat me by two whole seconds! Damn, Alfred, you sure it wasn't something you ate? Did you pour a monster drink into your coffee this morning?"

"Oh come on, that was one time during finals week!" Alfred splashed Jett again, accidently hitting Matthew in the process.

"Hey, watch it!"

Even though they were much more grown up now nearly 15 years after meeting for the first time, they still fought like children on the playground. They were just larger children. Grown up didn't always mean mature, and Alfred knew that he and Jett were living proof of that.

"You know, you could join us," Alfred giving Matthew his most innocent expression.

"Maybe next time when you two aren't liable to drown everyone within a ten meter radius. Oh wait, that's never." Matthew always avoided getting in the pool when they raced, but it didn't stop Alfred from asking.

The two got out of the pool and sat on the woven plastic chairs, sharing a coke as they rested. Matthew sat nearby, pulling out a book that had some German title which prevented Alfred from being able to read it. Why Matthew had gotten into European culture and languages was beyond Alfred. He had gotten better since his Spanish phase, but it was still unnerving that Alfred didn't always understand what Matthew was talking about. There were times he was fairly certain that Matthew was cursing at people in French or Italian, but he always denied it.

Sitting back against the chair Alfred couldn't stop himself from grinning broadly at Jett who asked, "Seriously dude, what's gotten into you today? You're giddier than usual, and that's saying something. You're so hyper I'm afraid you'll pick a fight with a kangaroo!"

Jett thought for a brief moment before his smile widened and he added, "Actually, go pick a fight with a kangaroo, it'll be funny. I'm not going to pick up the pieces though."

"Ooh, shut up. I'm really excited about your Birthday. I got you a really cool present."

Jett replied, "Oh lord. That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. Are you really going to tell me what it is now?" a wry smile accompanied by a raised eyebrow graced his face. Jett teased Alfred mercilessly sometimes. Not that Alfred could blame him though. It was kind of silly that he had a hard time even keeping a gift a secret from his Jett on his birthday.

Alfred frowned. He didn't want to ruin it now. The gift had been kept a secret so far and he had talked himself into a position where he was tempted to give it away. But, he did have a backup plan in case of a situation like this.

"No, I won't ruin it. I did get you something else though. I figured if I could give you a little something now and it'd keep me satisfied until tomorrow."

Jett sighed, looking up towards the clear, blue skies, "Ok, I can accept that. Where is it?"

Alfred was already rummaging around in their pool bag. It wasn't exactly a small gift, he had wondered how Jett hadn't noticed it in the bag already. But then again, Jett was so laid back, he may just not have cared there was something strange in his backpack, assuming it was some creature that had climbed in for a nap.

"Here you go!"

Alfred was only slightly ashamed at the shoddy wrapping job. It was such an awkward shape though, he didn't have much of a choice. He also knew that Jett didn't give a rat's ass what the gift looked like.

Jett took the lumpy package and ripped into the wrapping paper with enthusiasm, which pleased Alfred. At least he understood that this was Alfred's way of compromising and could overlook the fact that Alfred couldn't keep a secret to save his life. There was nothing Jett nor Alfred could do about Alfred's over-enthusiastic attitude towards his birthday…or any other event. Normally Jett hated when surprises that were for himself were ruined, although he'd try to brush it off.

Alfred was still going to have to struggle to keep the even more exciting gift a secret until tomorrow. However, if Jett was happy with his gift today, Alfred might be able to live off of that and refrain from ruining the surprise for one more day. Just one though. He was ready to have the burden of keeping a secret removed from his life for good. Lying by omission was still lying.

It took mere seconds for Jett to rip the paper off completely, revealing a smiling, stuffed Koala bear.

The laugh that sprang from Jett's lips was knee weakening, and Alfred was thankful he was sitting down. Even though they met at a very young age, even though they had been together for practically their whole lives, Jett still had an effect on Alfred that rivaled any relationship in the world.

"This is so great!"

"I know how you like Koalas. Figured it'd be a nice thing to take with you when we went back to the States, a keepsake from home."

"I love it."

Jett stood up to give Alfred a hug, and Alfred nearly tackled him. It didn't take long for Jett to return the hug in equal force. Alfred was slightly upset with himself that he didn't even have the self-control to wait until they were alone to give Jett the gift, but the look on Jett's face was worth it. Besides, Jett would thank him more thoroughly later.

When Alfred opened his eyes, he noticed one of the onlookers staring at them with a humorless expression. He knew it was just a matter of time. They had attracted too much attention. Normally, they could keep their raucous behavior to a minimum when they were in public. Most of the time people didn't mind their annoying behavior. But the people that had a problem with them minded. She was an older woman, maybe old enough to be their mother. Alfred knew the lady from town. She was one of those soccer moms, one of the religious variety given their luck. Alfred buried his mouth in Jett's shoulder to hide his expression as he watched the lady narrow her eyes at them over her magazine. Jett turned his head slightly, his wet skin pulling back from Alfred's chin as Jett wondered what Alfred was looking at.

At that moment, Kaelin, Pauline, and Leonard walked up to the three of them. "Dinner will be ready in an hour or two, we were sent to come get you guys," Kaelin stated.

"Ahh, no. Just a little while longer," Jett pleaded, giving Kaelin big puppy dog eyes and pouting. Kaelin rolled his eyes, looking to Matthew for some support. Alfred was already planning on how they could squeeze out another half an hour at the pool.

"I'll make sure they come in in about 20 minutes, how about that?" Matthew said. Alfred sat back down and leaned back in his chair. He was determined to soak up as much of the afternoon sun as he could, enjoying the breeze drift across his bare skin. He mentally thanked Matthew, but would wait until the others left to do so out loud.

"Fine. But don't be late." Kaelin turned to leave, but Jett sprang from his chair and grabbed Kaelin's arm.

"Come race us!"

"Hell no." Kaelin's deadpan expression didn't deter Jett though.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Jett pleaded. Kaelin looked to Leonard and Pauline for support.

"Guys, you're supposed to stop this! That's why I dragged you here." Now that was something Alfred hadn't expected to hear. As soon as the words left Kaelin's lips, Alfred knew Kaelin had fucked up. It would have been easier on Kaelin if he had come by himself. Then he might have gotten away with just a quick dunk, or maybe they wouldn't have forced him to get in the pool at all. Depending on how much he kicked and screamed about it of course. Jett would only push his overly serious brother so far. But with the rest of the family…

Kaelin really was a nice guy. Alfred almost felt sorry for him.

"What? I thought we came here to swim too!" Leonard was pulling out a torpedo and some other pool toys from Alfred's bag.

"I came because I knew this would happen," Pauline said as she put earbuds in her ears and sat down on a pool chair near Matthew and watched the events unfold.

Kaelin finally turned to Matthew for support. The one person who might have a little bit of sympathy for him. "Matthew, help me!" His voice cracked as he spoke, and Matthew barely spared a glance over the book he was engaged in.

Shouldn't have bothered Matthew while he was reading…

"And get dragged in as well? No thank you. You're on your own." That was the green light in Alfred's mind. Time to dunk Kaelin in the pool.

Alfred lunged towards Kaelin and wrapped his arms around his waist and tossed him over his shoulder. He felt Kaelin go limp as he accepted defeat. Jett's little brother was so stern though, they couldn't resist picking on him every now and then. Plus, bringing Leonard would probably win him the **Worst Idea of the Year** award. Kaelin deserved it.

As he neared the edge of the pool, he could hear a soft thumping behind him. The sound grew quickly and Alfred turned with barely enough time to see Jett hurtling towards them. He braced himself just in the nick of time as Jett threw himself against Alfred, knocking him and Kaelin into the deep end of the pool.

Upon surfacing, Alfred was hit by the spray as Leonard hurled himself into the water as well. Jett and Alfred just laughed as Kaelin mumbled something about not wanting to get his clothes wet. The only response Alfred gave him was to give Jett a loud high five and start laughing again.

That was when the woman who had been glaring at them earlier finally approached. Alfred couldn't say he didn't see it coming, but even her presence was quickly ruining his good mood.

"You lot need to cut it out! I will not stand another second of your disgusting public displays of affection!"

Alfred groaned as loudly as he could to ensure the woman knew how irritated he was as she continued on her rant about how they were going to hell. It was 2015. The fact that there were still people who thought homosexuality was a sin was baffling to Alfred. Hadn't natural selection killed all of them off yet? Oh right, no, because of things like medicine and the 'careful, contents hot' labels on everything. He was about to interrupt her incoherent speech when she took a breath, but Jett beat him to it.

"Sorry ma'am, we'll try to be less gay." Alfred gave Jett an incredulous look from behind his back. He was hoping Jett could feel his anger if he directed it at him. Come on, Jett. This woman was totally out of line and you know it. We weren't even doing anything suggestive for Christ's sake! We were just having fun! Anyone else could have tackled each other in the pool and no one would have batted an eye. Alfred knew that Jett was just avoiding confrontation, but sometimes it was too much to ignore. Sometimes things needed to be confronted.

Just as his rage had started to build, Jett turned just enough to allow Alfred to see him wink.

Good. He had a plan. Alfred was already prepared to launch his own verbal attack on the woman, but if Jett had a plan, he trusted that he didn't need to. Whatever Jett was planning was probably nicer anyway. If Alfred wanted to salvage the good mood, his best bet was probably Jett's plan.

He thought for a moment as the woman continued to lecture them on the wickedness of their ways. Alfred had a vague idea of what Jett wanted to do. It was just a matter of waiting for the woman to leave so everyone else could be filled in on the details now. There was a post they had seen on the internet. Alfred wouldn't have thought of that solution until after the fact, but Jett was always looking for hilarious ways to tell homophobes to piss off. Now was as good an opportunity as any. Thank god for Jett's quick wit.

After a few more choice words about how disgusting their behavior was and how she was just trying to help them, the lady finally stalked off back to her chair. If people had not been staring at them before, they definitely were now. Luckily, most of the crowd looked to be of the younger generation and appeared sympathetic. By sympathetic, Alfred really thought they looked horrified at the woman's behavior. But not one of them stood up in their defense. They even knew a few of them personally. Alfred swore to himself that he would never sit by idly and watch someone act as unjustly towards another living creature as he just experienced with that woman. Again.

When she was out of earshot, Jett turned around to face everyone. The sly grin on his face told Alfred all he needed to know.

"I call being it!" Alfred whispered. Jett covered his face as he snorted.

"You just can't wait to get back at her, can you?" Alfred shook his head instead of replying. He casually made his way over to the shallow end of the pool as Jett explained the game to Leonard and Kaelin. Alfred had to cover his own mouth as Kaelin broke into a mischievous grin. The rare instances they could get Kaelin to relax and be silly were worth it. Of course, with nearly all of Jett and Alfred's family being queer, he was sure Kaelin was just as pissed off as Alfred was. Kaelin was probably dying to humiliate that woman by any means necessary. But he hid it better than Alfred. With any luck, this plan would simultaneously make the lady regret approaching them and show her that very few people nowadays were on her side. Just because no one reached out to help them didn't mean that they didn't want to.

When it seemed like everyone was filled in on the plan, Alfred gave Jett a thumbs up which was returned. Then, Alfred turned around, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He used his fingers to count so he could remain quiet for as long as possible.

Once he reached ten, Alfred turned around, keeping his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and tried to call out, but it turned into a snicker instead. This plan had been brewing for too long and it was too exciting that they had finally been given a chance to do it themselves instead of reading about it.

Alfred could hear the other three suppressing their giggles as well. Now he had a location on them and the game hadn't even started.

He took another deep breath, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled, "Marco!"

All at once, three other voices screamed, "HOMO!" before bursting out laughing. Alfred could hear the rest of the people surrounding the pool roaring with laughter as well. Amongst their resounding chorus of whoops and hollers, Alfred thought he heard the faint yells from what was now likely an enraged woman, but he ignored it. The pool-goers were backing them up, not her.

Before the laughter died down, Alfred sprang toward the voice that was closest to him. He wasn't about to lose the opening their antics had created. The voice belonged to Leonard, which was lucky for Alfred. If it had been Jett, he would have been prepared for the attack. It would take some creative maneuvering to tag Jett, but there would be time for that later.

Leonard groaned when Alfred tagged him, but the sound was halted as other people began jumping in the pool to join their game. Alfred opened his eyes since he was no longer it and watched a few others get up from their seats to join them. Even Matthew and Pauline got in the water to play their anti-homophobe game. The afternoon passed in bliss, easily replenishing Alfred's good mood. It got to a point that he couldn't resist over-acting and started talking in the stereotypical gay accent. Their friends and even strangers began acting as gay as they possibly could with some of the burlier men jumping into their friend's arms and screaming in mock terror. A few women picked fake fights with people too, claiming they were cheating and opening their eyes to find people. Really, it was just a chance to show off their non-existent muscles which gave Jett the opportunity to pretend to be impressed. One girl did have a pair of guns though, to which Jett played it off like they were nothing.

Kaelin forgot to tell them to go back for dinner as their game played out, but as they went home, none of them could say they regretted it.

The woman was forgotten entirely.


	3. Maps and Legends

"Please come back soon for karaoke night boys!"

"Absolutely!"

Alfred stumbled out of the bar with Jett in tow. At nearly one in the morning, they were both tripping over their own feet and giggling from the copious amount of alcohol they had consumed. As they went home, Jett regaled the entire evening, starting with Alfred serenading him to the tune of "American Idiot". He even did a reenactment of Alfred's tabletop dance.

"Dude! I hadn't even started drinking yet!" Alfred laughed as Jett threw his hands in the air, waving them around with barely enough restraint to prevent himself from falling over.

"That was the best part, you were terrifying the bartenders when you finally ordered a beer! I thought that one waitress was going to piss herself when you asked for a pitcher for the table!"

"Ah man, she was cute too. If only I was straight." Alfred said, half baiting Jett to begin his usual shenanigans. It worked like a charm.

Jett knitted his eyebrows as hard as he could, face contorted into an over exaggerated frown which wasn't entirely convincing. But seeing as they were both drunk on beer and foolishness, it was fitting. "You wouldn't leave me for her would you?"

At times like this, it was Alfred's job to act totally fooled by Jett's mischievous behavior. Drunk or sober. However, this time he didn't quite know where Jett was going with his fake whining. It never hurt to play along though.

"Nah, man. You're the only one for me."

"Oh good, because I call dibs!"

"Wai…what?" Alfred said, standing dumbfounded as Jett twirled around in the street, laughing manically.

He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and waved in front of Alfred's face. It was moving around so much Alfred couldn't make out the writing. There was definitely something written on it though.

"She gave me her number, and I call dibs!"

Alfred felt his chest burning as he busted out laughing, tears brushing the edges of his eyes. "Oh man, that's too funny! Did you say anything to her?"

"Yeah, I told her I'd give her a ring if my current girlfriend didn't get off of the tables soon. It took her a minute before she realized what I was saying."

At that, Alfred's knees buckled, unable to support his own weight as the hilarity of the situation and the alcohol took a hold of him. He hit the pavement as he was consumed with painful fits of riotous laughter. Jett was doubled over beside him, holding onto his knees for support as laughed just as loudly.

Before the giggles had died down, and Jett had regained some of his breath and he managed to say, "I think our duet caused her to have to step outside."

Alfred tried his best to suppress his laughter from splitting his sides in two as he replied, "Two gay guys practically screaming '22', or any Taylor Swift song for that matter, and I would have been weak too!"

"It did make you weak and you were one of the ones singing it!" Jett reached out a hand to help Alfred off of the sidewalk, the remnants of laughter still rippling in his tanned cheeks. The night was humid and warm, but there was a faint chill in the air. The sky was clear and all of the stars shone brightly leaving Alfred's head feeling lighter as he gazed up into the marvels of the black sky. The rest of the walk home, Alfred leaned on Jett for support, not so much out of necessity, but more to feel the comforting warmth and sense of completion it gave Alfred. Jett's hand was glued to Alfred's waist, offering additional support while simultaneously pressing Alfred's side flush with Jett's. The two boys slowly weaved their way home, satisfied by their wonderful evening.

Jett immediately flopped on the bed, and Alfred admired him for a minute, watching the content smile lighten Jett's featured and soften his eyelids in the dim lighting. Alfred considered sleeping too, but instead he gripped Jett's shoulder and shook him as lightly as his drunken self would allow.

"Hey, I've still got to give you your present."

"Can't it wait until morning?" Jett groaned, even as he smiled as Alfred's excitement.

"No, it can't." He had waited patiently all day throughout the celebrations, the cake, and the karaoke. But it was something Alfred wanted to share with Jett alone.

"Oh alright." Jett probably wanted nothing more than to let sweet dreams take him over for the night. But he still smiled gratefully at Alfred.

Alfred stumbled to the closet where he had stashed the gift. The brown mailing tube was coarse against his hands as he picked it up and brought it over to Jett. As he handed Jett the package, Alfred started to feel their nights adventures begin to have an effect on his shoulders. His eyelids were weighted down with sleep too. The simple act of handing Jett the package was beginning to pacify him. Still, no matter how sleepy he was, Alfred couldn't bear not seeing Jett's reaction for another night.

Jett popped the top off the tube, his movements slowed by his inebriation. Alfred resisted the urge to open it for him since he was slightly less drunk than Jett. He watched in anticipation as Jett pulled the folded parchment from inside the tube. Even the sight of the slightly tattered parchment made Alfred's veins tingle with excitement. Then Jett opened the paper and Alfred prepared himself for Jett's overjoyed reaction.

"You gave me a blank piece of paper?" Jett asked. Alfred furrowed his bow in confusion. He must have heard wrong. Slowly, he realized that Jett was not joking.

"What? No, I gave you a…" Alfred stopped talking as he took the map from Jett's hands. At least, it had been a map when he packaged it. The markings that had been on the upper left quadrant of the paper were gone!

"Where is it? Where's the map?" It was impossible. He thought he saw a faint line of ink, but he blinked and it was gone. Suddenly, he wondered how drunk he really was. He began to shake the paper furiously as if it was an etch-a-sketch. But to no avail.

"I swear there was a map!" Alfred's heart sunk in his chest and he looked straight at Jett for his reaction. He had been so excited, and everything was being crushed before his eyes. It was supposed to be the best present he'd ever given Jett and it was nothing except disappointing. He'd even built the present up so much and now he must look like a fool. There was no explanation either! Alfred was positive there had been a map on the page.

He swallowed heavily, keeping his gaze on Jett constant. Jett seemed just as confused as Alfred, although he also appeared concerned. Alfred's breath started coming in giant gulps. Was he going crazy?

"Bro, it's ok! It's alright! You still got me an excellent koala gift yesterday…or the day before…what time is it?"

The clock read 2am.

Alfred stared daggers at the clock as if it was responsible for this mess. The red light burned into his eyes as he wished it would go back in time so he wouldn't be such an embarrassment. How come there was nothing on the paper? How had he let Jett down so badly?

"You have to believe me! It was a map! It was an adventure!" He was near tears, but the pain of failing Jett was beginning to unravel him. His chest ached and the room spun around him. Being drunk wasn't helping. But there HAD been a map there. Right?

"I…I believe you." The words were quiet, but the way Jett said it made Alfred want to believe him. He didn't look away and he said it with conviction. The words were clear and focused. He didn't see how Jett could believe him though. At this point, even Alfred was sure he was going crazy.

"I'm…I'm s…sorry." The tears finally spilled over his eyes. He felt like such a failure, and he didn't even know where he went wrong. There was nothing.

"Hey…hey it's ok!" Jett's hand was warm against his cheek and Alfred leaned into it. If nothing else, Jett was real.

"Hey, remember that time I got drunk and started following the lines on the carpet saying they would lead us to the fountain of youth?"

Alfred snorted through the tears. Jett always knew what would make Alfred feel better. However, he still felt slightly guilty. It was supposed to be Jett's Birthday! Everything was supposed to be perfect! "Yeah, I remember. I tried to get you to stop by saying we were young already."

"Did you? I don't remember that. Did it work?"

"Pfff, no. You kept saying that I wore old man clothes already and clearly needed a change of attitude." Jett's laugh was pure and clear. It made Alfred's heart skip a beat even though a large part of him still wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Well you do wear old man clothes." Alfred relented a little and gave a small chuckle, even though his heart wasn't all in it.

"I really do believe you, you know. You were too excited. I just don't understand…" Jett trailed off as he squinted at the paper. After a few seconds he finally finished, "what could have happened."

At this point, Alfred didn't want to think about it anymore. Maybe Jett believed him, maybe not. Alfred decided he didn't care.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow. We'll do something fun! We'll make our own map!" Jett gave him a huge smile and it warmed Alfred's chest.

"Ok! Let's do it!" Jett said, laying back on the pillows and shutting his eyes. "But let's wait until tomorrow, yeah?"

"Ok," Alfred said, as he clambered into bed beside Jett. The two laid together with their foreheads pressed together, crossing their knees over each other and intertwining their hands. Jett fell asleep almost immediately, but Alfred's head pounded for a good hour or so. It prevented him from falling asleep at first. The he remembered Jett's words, claiming that he believed Alfred. It was hard to say what Jett believed, but Alfred decided it didn't matter much. If he was going crazy, then so be it. There wasn't anyone better in the world to go crazy with.

He still wanted that map though.

Slowly, Alfred allowed his exhaustion to take hold and he drifted off into a light slumber.

* * *

The next morning Alfred was up early, as usual. It didn't matter that they had been out till 2am, he couldn't help but get up at 6am every day. Even in Australia. Although, the jet lag had taken a fair amount of time to wear off at first. He'd probably need a nap later on to make up for the lost sleep, but he was awake now. The time after waking up was when Alfred felt his best. Especially when the sun was still rising in the sky and bringing light to a brand new day. Jett did not share this sentiment.

Even though Alfred's eyes were still dry and tired, his mind was ready to take on the day.

It didn't take long to remember what had happened the night before, and the wind was briskly blown out of Alfred's sails. He was tempted to flop back down in the bed right then and there.

Instead, he glared at the incriminating piece of folded paper that should have been the most amazing gift of all time.

Alfred took the piece of paper and grabbed the edge with both hands, preparing to rip it to shreds. Before he could rip it though, he paused. There, just at the corner of the paper, was a small amount of black ink.

It couldn't be…

There was only one way to find out. Even though Alfred wanted nothing more than to destroy the gift at this point, a small spark of hope stayed his hand. He debated for a minute, already having been angered once by the inanimate object. But he had to know.

Gradually, and while trying to keep his hopes from getting out of hand, Alfred opened up the parchment. He was desperate not to be disappointed a second time. The fear of opening the map up and finding it empty again prevent Alfred from registering what he was seeing for a few moments.

It was impossible! How drunk HAD he been last night?!

There, right where it had been when Alfred had gotten the map on the upper, left hand side, was a map of an oddly shaped land mass surrounded by water. He couldn't believe his eyes. Or maybe he could, but he was still afraid to. Without taking his eyes off the map, he started nudging Jett's shoulder to try and wake him up.

"Psst! Jett, wake up! You need to see this!" He was half whispering half shouting. The excitement was making Alfred feel light headed, but he wanted to make sure the map didn't disappear again. Jett probably wanted to sleep until noon. He grumbled as Alfred continued to shake him, stirring the sheets up as he shifted away from the noise.

"Jett, I'm serious! Just for a second."

"Oh pleeeease, my head is killing me." Jett groaned. Alfred bit his lower lip. He just couldn't be sure the map would be there in a few hours. But he had already asked a lot from Jett to open the gift the night before…

Alfred went downstairs to eat breakfast. He tried to play it cool, act like it didn't bother him that the map was suddenly there again today. But it did. As he chewed his toast and sipped his coffee, he kept trying to avoid looking at it. But ever few seconds his eyes flicked back towards the map. And every time Alfred breathed a sigh of relief seeing it was still there.

All morning he tried to figure out how they hadn't seen the map the previous night. A thousand crazy ideas flew through his head, all more exotic than the last. Maybe he had grabbed the wrong paper. But there had only been one piece of paper to begin with. Perhaps the ink disappeared in the dark. He tried taking it to the bathroom with no windows and shutting the door. It was hard to see, but the map was still there. What if someone had switched the map while they were asleep? Not likely, Alfred probably would have woken up.…what if it was aliens?

Even Alfred had to laugh at himself for that idea. But none of it made any sense. The best he could figure is that they were too drunk and were holding the map backwards. It seemed reasonable enough, although something about that explanation kept nagging at his brain. He couldn't put his finger on what though.

After a while he resigned himself to allowing the map to continue bothering him. At least until Jett saw it and he could prove he wasn't crazy or lying. Alfred spent most of the morning looking at the map, taking in every detail he could. Maybe if it disappeared again, he could recreate it.

Now Alfred was convinced he was going crazy. The map couldn't just disappear. That was ridiculous. Almost as bad as his alien idea.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jett finally came down the stairs. It was only 11am, but that meant Alfred had been up for five hours contemplating this stupid map. Jett gave a vocal yawn, and Alfred suddenly felt ashamed to ask him to look at the map again. He kept quiet instead.

"G'mornin'," Jett mumbled while wiping his eyes of sleep. He sat across the breakfast table from Alfred, pouring himself some orange juice and buttering a piece of toast.

Alfred smiled brightly, finally tearing his eyes from the map. He itched to keep looking at it, ensuring that it was still there, but he also didn't want to make Jett suspicious.

"What's that?" Jett asked through his toast, pointing at the map with a jerk of his head.

"Umm..." Alfred looked down again, just to double check that the map was still there and that it still had land drawn on it. "It's your present…"

Jett dropped his toast and snatched the parchment from in front of Alfred.

"No way…" He reached up and dragged his fingers through his hair. Something he did when he was confused. Jett laid the map out in front of him and stared at it with misty eyes. But the way he had grabbed the map and laid it down was starting to make Alfred uncomfortable. He didn't know how to approach the subject though.

"Hey, Jett?"

"Yeah?"

"The map is…upside down." Alfred said. Jett looked up and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You can still read a map upside down, you know."

Alfred threw his hands up in defense. If Jett wanted to read the map upside down, then so be it. Besides, this way Alfred could look at the map right side up as well. So in the end it worked out. Even if it was weird…

"Why is there only a small section of it filled out?" Jett asked.

He had expected this question. The man that had given Alfred the map had told him it was a puzzle. They would have to figure out the first part in order to get to the next part. Alfred figured it would lead them to the location of another piece of the map which could probably be attached to the original parchment.

Jett asked about the words in the corner, but they were in a language that Alfred didn't understand either. Then he asked how they would be able to afford a trip. It was a little disappointing, but Alfred didn't have an answer. They were too poor. But it was still something nice to think about for now. And maybe in the future they would be able to afford it as well. Then Jett asked the question Alfred had been dying to answer since he got the map.

"Where does it lead?"

Alfred smiled hugely at him. "I could be wrong, but…I think…it leads to Atlantis."

"Get out. That's not possible, Atlantis is just a legend!"

"No listen! I'm not kidding! Look at this paper and this ink. It's definitely not any sort of modern day paper. It's thick, and almost fabric like. But get this, it's not any ancient type of paper either. At least not that I could find in the historical archives. The ink is the same way! Look how it shines in the light, it's almost green or blue and iridescent. They didn't have ink like that in any of the Ancient Civilizations.

"But that's not all. This marking here. It's Poseidon's Trident, or at least it's really close. And this symbol here kinda looks like the Pillars of Heracles…I mean Hercules…wait...HerAcles gave me the map. HercUles is the better known name of the Pillars. Anyway, sidetracked."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Jett asked.

"Well, according to Plato, Atlantis was supposed to lie 'beyond the Pillars of Hercules'. And it was often referenced to as being in Poseidon's domain, obviously since it was swallowed up by the sea eventually."

"But here's the really exciting part. You see the faint marks at the corner of the page here?" Alfred started squealing, it was all too much. He knew there was a good chance that he was wrong. But he'd done so much research on the map while he was sick with sun poisoning and everything seemed to add up.

"That's Plato's handwriting! I thought it looked familiar! And I looked back through some of my old Historical Philosophy textbooks and there was a photograph of 'The Republic'! It was so similar! I took it to a graphologist and they said if it wasn't Plato's, then it was a damn good forgery!" Alfred said. He was getting a little ahead of himself, but he was too excited now.

"But it doesn't match the other writing on the page. Alfred are you sure?"

"Yeah! I mean, of course it wouldn't match. Plato had one of the first written records of Atlantis. But I don't think he created it. I think he was looking for it and I think he had this map. I think those are his notes!"

"That seems like an awful lot of speculation." Jett said. Alfred frowned some, but Jett was good at asking important questions. He had to remember that sometimes.

"Well sure, but even if it's not, it could still be a fun adventure."

Finally, Jett smiled. Yes, the map was exciting because there was a small chance it led to a long lost civilization that no one had found for thousands of years. But the main point was for them to share an adventure.

"How about this, we'll make a bet. What do I get if it is real?" Alfred asked.

"Hmm…I'll kiss you."

"What, that's it?"

"Yep, take it or leave it." Well, it was better than nothing.

"Fine. As long as we actually get to go." Even if it didn't exist, it was an excuse to travel. Something they'd both dreamed of since they were little. Alfred caught Jett staring at him. He didn't know whether he should feel guilty or what.

"You really believe it exists, don't you…"

"I…well…I'm not sure. But I know it's something I want to do with you!" Alfred flashed Jett his most winning smile.

"Al…I've known you for a very long time. You don't get like this if you think it's nothing. Why do you think I believed you last night when you said it was a map?"

Alfred took a deep breath, holding it until his lungs hurt. Sometimes Jett knew him better than he did. It wasn't something new, but every time it happened it was still bewildering. That, on top of hearing Jett say he believed Alfred when his eyes had told him otherwise was almost more than Alfred could handle. Even he had been unsure of himself in that moment. Alfred was still unsure of himself.

"What if I'm wrong? I can't even explain why I feel this way. What if it is just a hoax?"

"Well, we'll have to cross that bridge when we get there. So I guess that means we'll have to go looking for it." And Jett smiled.

"Go looking for what?" Jett's father asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Uuhhh…"

"Alfred got me a map to Atlantis for my Birthday," Jett said. Alfred tried not to burst the bubble and laugh out loud. He knew Jett was only saying that to get a good reaction.

When Alfred looked again, Jett's father's eyes swirled with a host of emotions that Alfred didn't understand. But not one of them questioned what Jett had said. Which struck Alfred as particularly strange. Jett loved saying things with the sole purpose of confusing, and his father of all people should know that. Like with the waitress at the bar, telling her his girlfriend was dancing on the bar. This was definitely something that should have confused Jett's dad. His reaction didn't go unnoticed by Jett either. The two glanced at each other from the corner of their eyes.

There was a long pause before Jett's dad started speaking. "You know, I always felt bad for divorcing your mother. I felt like I did you and your siblings wrong. It wasn't something you deserved."

The change in topic confused Alfred, but Jett's dad kept speaking, "I like you Alfred. You've been really good for Jett. Actually, I can't remember a time when I knew a happier couple than you two." There was another pause as Jett and Alfred looked straight at each other. It was apparent that Jett had as much of a clue where his father was going as Alfred did.

"So, if you want to go on this trip, I'll be willing to pay for it." Alfred's jaw dropped and Jett audibly gasped.

"You're joking. Dad, I said 'Atlantis'. It's just a…well…it's probably just a myth!" The words Jett chose did not slip past Alfred's notice. He could have outright denied its existence. But he didn't. And the knowing smile his father gave them sent Alfred's head spinning. There were so many things he didn't understand about what was going on. So many things he was trying to process.

"It might be. It might not." Jett's father said.

"How come you're so willing to accept this?" With that, Jett's father finally caved a little.

"If it turns out to be real…if you find it…maybe then I'll tell you. If not, then I hope you two have a hell of an adventure anyway."


End file.
